TFS- shall I create a branch or a separate team project?

Question

I would like to know if I have a project, and I want to create a separate test and release projects/branches.

Shall I create one team project and then create branches like test, dev and release? OR can I also go for a separate team project for each?

One of our clients have been using separate team projects for each. Could you elaborate under which circumstances shall we opt for a team project instead of a branch? What are the pros and cons of each approach?

To the best of my knowledge, I think branches should have been used in this scenario.

Thanks for your help.

Answer 1

A new branch will provide merging and build options that can't be done from one project to another. If you create branches you can share work items (tasks, bugs, ...) between all of them, if you create projects, developers will need to go to each project to find tasks, etc.

Usually it's better to crate branches for each environment. If you go for team projects make sure there is a good reason for it.

Take a look to this article, it may be helpful:

http://nakedalm.com/when-should-i-use-areas-in-tfs-instead-of-team-projects-in-team-foundation-server-2010/

Answer 2

Branches should be just fine, no need for multiple team projects.